Those of you who keep tabs on the tech industry overall probably have heard about Project Sputnik back when we first started talking about it in May when sites like Engadget and The Verge covered it. Since then, we’ve been having discussions about it in a few places online. I thought it might be helpful to connect some of those dots, so I created this repository. As we update details regarding Project Sputnik in various places, I’ll work to keep this post updated so you’ll have one place to reference.
For those who haven’t heard of it, Project Sputnik is a 6-month effort to explore the possibility of creating an open source laptop specifically intended for developers. It will be built on the Ubuntu 12.04 operating system on our award-winning XPS 13 laptop.
Update November 29, 2012: The XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop is now available to customers in the United States and Canada. Read Nnamdi Orakwue’s Direct2Dell post and Barton George’s blog post for the official details.
Hear more about it in this video where Barton George discusses Project Sputnik with Michael Coté:
And while I’m talking video, here’s another where Barton explains where we hope to take Project Sputnik. Note: I couldn’t embed the video, so you’ll need to click on the image to get where you can play the video.
Key Links:
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Introducing Project Sputnik: Developer Laptop – Barton’s blog post where he unveiled Project Sputnik to customers.
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Sputnik, Wow! – This is Barton’s post where he responded to the external reaction of the project.
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IdeaStorm Project Sputnik Storm Session – We’re taking feedback on the project up until September 16, so if you’ve got some thoughts on what we should include (or not include), this is the place to do it.
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Project Sputnik information page – This is the Project Sputnik page on Dell.com.
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Project Sputnik Beta Program – Barton’s blog post unveiling details about the Project Sputnik Beta Program. Use this form to apply to the Sputnik Beta Cosmonaut program.
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Dell TechCenter links: Here’s is the Project Sputnik Wiki and the Project Sputnik Forum.
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Progress with help from Canonical – Barton’s blog post that discusses The Profile Tool and getting the XPS 13 working with Ubuntu 12.04LTS.
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Sputnik update: Touchpad driver now available – Blog post from Barton where he explains the open source multi-touch driver for the XPS 13 touchpad is now available that thanks to collaboration from Dell, Canonical and Cypress.
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Project Sputnik press release – Makes it official that confirms we will launch the developer-focused laptop later this fall.
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Project Sputnik Goes from Pilot to Product – This is Barton’s post that confirms Project Sputnik will be an official product.
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Project Sputnik FAQ – This is a Wiki on Dell TechCenter regarding Project Sputnik.
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Beta Cosmonauts Chosen – This is the post where Barton lets folks know that the beta participants will soon get an e-mail that entitles them to get a beta unit for $1,199 along with details of what we need from them so we can offer this as a product down the road.
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Initial thoughts from the Project Sputnik Beta Cosmonauts – Barton shares initial feedback from the community.
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Project Sputnik Profile Tool update – Barton dives deeper into what customers can expect from the Profile tool that will be included.
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Sputnik Pricing Update – Lionel explained that Dell adjusted the price of the XPS 13 developer edition laptop to $1,449 in the United States so that it is less expensive than a comparable Windows machine.
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Github repository for the Cloud Launcher and Profile tool.
- XPS 13 Developer Edition with full HD screen – Lionel’s post that unveils the new XPS 13 with the full HD for customers in the US and Europe.